Wild Love Ranch
by Orca15
Summary: Why did Pablo sponsor Kris's parole? Why did he forgive her after she risked Wildfire's life? Why did he do all he did for her? I want to explore Pablo and Kris's relationship. Please read and review. I love opinions.
1. The Morning of

Disclaimer: I do not own Wildfire or the story line. I just want to explore what might of happened after the show ended. I thank the creators of Wildfire for creating such a wonderful show. I really enjoyed watching it and it made the best spring break EVER!

* * *

_Kris Furillo sat on Flame's back. She looked down the track. __**"A good jockey looks down the track and doesn't see obstacles but sees opportunity."**__ Pablo Batart's voice rang in her head. Pablo... she thought of the man that gave her that advice. A sad smile touched her lips. Her jockey's license had been restored but she knew he would never forgive her for what she did with Wildfire. She had risked everything; her jockey's license, her family, and wildfire. _

_"Kris!" Matt Ritter's voice broke her from her thoughts. Matt, her trainer and ex-boyfriend. Not the guy she could tell that she was missing someone that would never forgive her for a mistake that she made. "You have to focus on this!" _

_"I'm sorry." She said quickly gathering up Flame's rains. _

_"I don't know what's going on. I don't know what your mind is on. But you have to clear it. The race is Saturday, that's two days away." _

_"I know." She got through the workout somehow not thinking of Pablo again. She pulled Flame up and turned to head back to Matt. When she turned she thought her eyes were deceiving her. Instead of Matt, it was Pablo standing at the gate of the track. _

_"Good job, shaved three seconds off his time." Pablo said with a happy smile. Suddenly, it was not Flame under her but his father, Wildfire. _

_

* * *

_She woke with a start, her blood pumping and sweat covering her body. "Kris!" Matt was banging on the door. "We're running late!"

"I'm coming." Kris answered loudly so Matt could hear. She dressed quickly and grabbed an apple. "Pablo didn't leave because of what happened with Wildfire all those years ago Kris." She whispered to herself as she headed for the door. "He left because Jean DIED. It had nothing to do with you. And Wildfire is safe with him. Away from harm." _Even if you haven't heard from Pablo in eight months._ She opened her hotel door.

"Everything okay?" Matt asked when he saw her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... just had a dream." She replied as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No." She responded defensively. There was no way she could tell Matt that she was having feelings for someone they both missed dearly. "Lets get to the track and get Flame ready."

"Okay." They ran to out to the parking lot and got in the truck. Matt started the truck and headed in the direction of Churchill Downs. "So, there's going to be a special guest there today."

"Matt, there's going to be tons of special guest's there."

"No, this one is special to US." He stressed his point. "But don't worry about it. He's not going to get there till race time, so we'll see him after."

"Who is it?"

"It's a surprise. Just do your best today."

"Okay, but you know I'd do my best no matter WHO is there." She told him.

"I know." He replied, but he didn't seem to believe it.

"Matt, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just worried about the race."

"Don't, Flame's times have been amazing." He didn't respond. The silence was really annoying. "But you're worried about me..."

"No. It's not that." He replied. "It's just someone who's gonna be there."

"God, you're not worried about Junior are you?"

"No, God no. I know you two are over."  
"You have nothing to worry about. Either we'll win it or we won't. But no matter what, we'll look back and say that Raintree went to the Derby. And that will make Jean happy."

"My mother is dead. How can she be happy?"

"You'll make her memory proud Matt. You already have." The truck slowed to a stop.

"Whatever. Just concentrate on the race." He told her as she got out.

"I will." She ran over to Flame's stall and patted him on the nose. "This is your day boy. Let's make it the best!" She kissed him on the nose and hugged his neck.


	2. The Race and Special Guest

Kris let Flame out and they pulled in front of the pack just before they crossed the finish line. SHe shot her arm in the air in victory. She pulled Flame up and headed for the winners circle. When she troted in to the winners circle she thought she was dreaming again. Pablo was standing next to Matt. She stopped Flame next to them. Pablo reached up and grabbed her waist, pulling her from the horse, just like old times. His strong hands holding her tight and the muscles in his arms flexing as he sat her gently n the ground. "Pablo, what are you doing here?" She asked her old friend.

"I came to see you race." Pablo responded. The world disapeared around them as Kris locked eyes with him, all she could see was him.

"You came to see me race?" She questioned him.

"Yes" he rested his forehead against hers and his hands on her shoulders. "I came for you." All she could hear was his voice. Their lips touched and all she could hear was their heartbeats, synced together. She felt the same way she felt when she was riding. Like she was one with the horse. She felt like she was one with Pablo in that moment. "Because I love you." He added huskily.

"I love you too Pablo! I have waited for this moment for so long!" She responded as she planted a quick kiss on his lips.

"Let's not forget the moment that happened two minutes ago."

"Omigod! Flame and I won the Kentucky Derby!" She turned and threw her arms around Flame's neck. Pablo's hand rested on the small of her back. "It's gonna be a wild couple of weeks." She told the horse.

"And I'm gonna be by your side the entire time." Pablo whispered in her ear.


	3. The Question

_Two days later_

"Pablo." Kris said as he pulled the chair out for her. "Are you sure you're ready for a relationship?" She asked because why Pablo had left over a year before. Because Matt's mother, Jean Ritter. Pablo had loved her and she had been killed in a riding accident, prompting Pablo to leave.

"I am one hundred percent sure. I have spent the last year thinking about you. I couldn't figure out why. And when I realized why, because I love you, I had to come back. I made that mistake once." He looked sad as he sat across from her.

"Pablo." She whispered as she squeezed his hand.

"It's okay, I'm fine. I just don't what to lose you Kris."

"You won't. I promise." She picked up the menu.

"Watching you marry Junior Davis was the hardest thing I ever did." He admitted as he looked at his own menu.

"It was the stupidest thing I ever did." She laughed a bit and made eye contact with him. "But you were with Jean."

"No, i never told Jean how I felt. She didn't know."

"Oh Pablo." Her heart went out to him. Not because she loved him but because she knew what it was like to go four years without telling someone how you feel. The thought of him losing someone without telling them how he felt broke her heart for him.

"No, I learned from my mistake. That's why I'm here Kris." She nodded.

"Okay, enough about the past." Her own feelings of Jeans passing were starting to creep back up and she couldn't let that happen right now. "Let's talk present and future."

"Okay, I accidentally bred Wildfire." He stated bluntly.

"What?" She was shocked.

"Well, when you sent him to me, he was always nervous and such... I put him in a pen with Runnings Pride. I thought it would calm him down. It did alright."

"I thought he was sterile?"

"We thought so too. I guess not." He giggled. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We've got a baby Wildfire coming. It could be worth a lot, considering its brother just won the Kentucky Derby." She smiled.

"Good evening." A waiter said as he walked up. "May I take your orders?" Pablo nodded for her to go first.

"Yeah, I'll have a double bacon cheeseburger." Kris responded.

"And I'll have the same." Pablo replied without taking his eyes off her.

"So," Kris began as the waiter walked off. "Does this mean you're coming home to Raintree?"

"I can't." He shook his head. "I am coming back. Just not to Raintree. That's Matt's turf. Don't want to step on his toes."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Well, I bought some land." He smiled. "Kris, from the moment I first saw you at Camp Lagrange I knew we would never be apart. I knew there was something between us. And when I saw you on Wildfire I couldn't help but let go and dream about what might be." He got out of his chair, came around the table, and knelt on one knee in front of her.

"Pablo?" She whispered.

"Kris Furillo, will you marry me and help me start OUR farm?" she stopped breathing. Silence fell between them. "Kris?"

"Yes" She found her voice. "Yes I will marry you and yes i will start OUR farm with you!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him.

"I don't have a ring." He said. "I wasn't sure I was going to ask you right away until that moment I saw you after the derby."

"It's okay!" She kissed him. "It's perfectly okay!"


	4. What's going on?

The drive from Kentucky to Maryland was long and tiring for both Kris and Flame. Pablo could tell by the way she stumbled onto the track the morning after they arrived and by the way Flame galloped slowly around the track during the workout. He lifted Kris's light body from the saddle while Matt stormed off in disappointment at the workout time. "What's his problem?" Kris asked.

"He's tired and Flame didn't run like he thought he should." Pablo replied. "But I understand." He smiled at her. "I can tell you didn't sleep last night. I don't think Matt or Flame did either." He watched in the direction that Matt had stormed off. "I told him to take it easy today, but he wanted you two to work this morning."

"Shh..." She put her finger on his lips. "I don't think you slept well either..." She said seductively and laughed.

"Hey, not on the track." He reminded her. "You guys are gonna do great in the Preakness Stakes." He changed the subject quickly so they didn't get into the conversation of separating work and personal again. They walked Flame to his stall where Matt was waiting for them.

"Will you give us a minute?" Kris asked Pablo quietly for time alone with Matt.

"Sure." He replied. "I'll meet you at the restaurant." He headed off for the track café.

"Matt, is everything okay?" Kris asked once Pablo was out of earshot.

"No, everything is not okay!" Matt snapped. "I watched as you nearly threw your career away when you were married to Junior and I was afraid your focus would be split because he's here. Then Pablo called and told me he was going to come to the derby and tell you how he felt, I KNEW you would be distracted." Matt said with more than a little frustration fueling his words.

"Wait, you knew Pablo was coming to tell me he loves me?" Kris questioned, suddenly feeling like Pablo had asked Matt for permission.

"Yes, and I asked him to wait till after the Belmont, but he was insistent." Or not… Matt obviously didn't approve.

"He was afraid I was going to die before he could tell me. Matt, he loved Jean and the accident happened before he could tell her how he felt." She explained defensively.

"The 'accident' was HIS fault Kris." Matt said quietly, revealing that he didn't believe it had been an accident that had taken his mother's life a little over a year before.

"What do you mean?" Kris questioned him.

"Why don't you ask HIM?" Matt snapped, ripping Flames rains from Kris. She stared, shocked, as Matt began brushing Flame down. She didn't say anything else and quietly walked in the direction Pablo had gone. Her mind returning to a year before.

_Waking up, Kris stretched and looked at the clock. 6:30 a.m. She was late. "Crap" She told herself as she climbed out of bed and got dressed. She rushed to the barn and found no one there. Usually Pablo, Matt, or Jean was there, especially this late in the morning. She looked in Wildfires stall, he was fine. Then she noticed Taz tied in the isle, tacked and muddy. When she got closer she noticed blood dripping down his leg. "Omigod, Taz what happened?" She asked the horse. She remembered Pablo and Jean riding off the night before, Jean on Taz and Pablo on Star. She looked in Star's stall and he wasn't there. She ran up to the main house and knocked on the door. No one answered. She went to Matt's bunkhouse and again, no one answered. When she went to Pablo's house, she noticed the door open and carefully stepped inside. He wasn't there and she decided that the cat had opened the door again and she closed it as she left. She had to find them and so she tacked Wildfire. Then she remembered Taz and went over to him. She couldn't leave him tied like that and decided to clean him up later. She pulled the tack off him and dropped it on top of a box. She patted him as she put him in his stall. "I'll be back boy. Don't worry, we'll get you cleaned up and we'll have the doc look at that leg." She got into the saddle and rode out the direction she'd seen Pablo and Jean the night before. She had been riding out at a slow gallop for about twenty minutes when she caught sight of Star, tied to a tree. Then she saw the Sheriff car and two men standing next to it. Pablo was one of them and the other was in a Sheriff uniform. She rode up to them. _

"_I'm sorry miss, this trail is closed." The deputy replied. Pablo turned to face her, his eyes red and his face damp. Had he been crying? _

"_She's with me." He told the deputy as she got off Wildfire. _

"_What's going on Pablo?"Kris asked her best friend. Then her eyes fell on the saddle blanket on the ground. _

_**A/N: I originally had "The drive from Kentucky to Pennsylvania..." and then I realized, after publishing, that the Preakness Steaks is run at Pimlico Race Course, which is located in Baltimore, Maryland. So I have corrected my mistake and I apologize for it. Thank you. **  
_


	5. REALLY

**A/N: Here's an update. I know someone is reading this, please tell me what you think. I enjoy having opinions on what I write. **

Pablo looked up to see Kris standing in the door of the restaurant and stood up to get her attention. When she saw him she smiled and came over to his table. "Hey" he said as he returned her smile and pulled the chair out for her. "Everything okay?" He asked because she looked like she was lost in thought.

"Yeah, Matt was just upset that our times are down." She responded without convincing him that was all that she and Matt had talked about.

"You just won the Kentucky Derby, how can he be upset by your times?"

"I told him that." She paused. "Ever since Jean died, there's been no pleasing him."

"It's tough to lose a parent." He commented softly.

"I know, Jean was like a mother to me." She said sadly.

"It's okay." He said in an attempt to comfort her as he sat down next to her. "Lets get some breakfast." He decided it was time to change the subject, before he began to dwell on the past. He still wasn't ready to talk about Jean, especially not with Kris. Not after he'd lied to her... _"What's going on?" Kris asked him as she looked from Jeans body to him. He turned her away from Jean's body and stood for a moment in silence with her. "Pablo? Who is that?" Kris wasn't stupid, she knew that the saddle blanket covered a dead body. _

_"It's Jean..." He replied softly, not wanting to believe it himself. "I found her when I was checking the fences." He explained. _

_"What happened last night? I saw y'all ride out together, then I find Taz tied in the isle of the barn, now you tell me you found Jean dead this morning while checking the fences. Pablo?" Kris questioned his story. _

_"I went back early. Jean wanted to stay out alone for awhile. She was enjoying the evening." He paused. "I think the wolf scared Taz." He motioned to the dead animal that lay not far away from them. He didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to make her cover for him. He didn't want to admit that he had been wrong... _

"Pablo." Kris interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He asked, trying to act as if he hadn't zoned out completely.

"What do you want?" She motioned to the waitress that he hadn't even noticed.

"Oh, sorry." He smiled. "I'll have the breakfast special, easy over eggs and bacon cooked to a crisp."

"Got it." The young waitress replied, taking the menu's and walking off.

_That evening_

Pablo and Kris walked on the track, hand in hand. It was dark and no one else was around. "So, what did you and Matt REALLY talk about this morning?" He asked, deciding not to let it linger over them any longer.

"I told you." She responded without looking at him.

"No, you didn't. You told me what you thought I wanted to hear. Kris, what did you REALLY talk about?" She stayed silent for a moment and just as he was about to push the subject, she spoke.

"What REALLY happened the night Jean died?" Her question shocked him. _Why is she asking this? _"Pablo?" She questioned as she stopped walking and turned to face him. "I deserve to know."

"We were out riding together." He sighed. "I didn't really go back early." Admitting that meant he was admitting he'd lied to her. "She was riding Taz, he'd been jittery all night and we decided to head back." He paused, looking down the track to avoid making eye contact with her. "A wolf came out of the tree line and spooked Taz. He reared and Jean fell. She was dead before I could get to her." A tear streaked down his face.

"Why did you lie to us?" She said US, but he knew that what she really meant was HER. _Why did you lie to her?_

"Do you think, with my past conviction of manslaughter, it would be a good idea to tell the police I was with her?" He answered with a question, avoiding hers.

"Why didn't you go for help?" She was obviously angry at him, she had every right to be.

"I knew she was dead Kris! I held her in my arms and told her all the things I never had the courage to tell her."

"Matt blames you because you lied! Why didn't you tell him the truth?"

_He sat with Jeans body in his lap, holding her close. Tears cascaded down his face. He heard hoof beats behind him and knew it was Matt. "Pablo?" Matt's worried voice questioned. _

_"She's gone Matt." He replied through the tears. _

_"What happened?" Matt's voice was tainted by tears and anger. _

_"The wolf scared Taz." He motioned toward the wolf that the horses had beaten to death. _

_"We have to get help." The young man said in a hopeful voice. _

_"No Matt. It's too late... She's gone." He looked up at the younger man with pleading eyes. "Let me stay with her. Please, I need this time." He begged. _

_"For what?" Matt questioned. _

_"I need to tell her how I feel about her." Matt didn't say a word as he rode off. _

"Pablo?" Kris's soft voice brought him back from the memory.

"Matt knew the truth." Pablo answered her previous question as tears threatened to spill over. "I'll meet you back at the hotel." He told her as he headed for his truck.


End file.
